Throughout the years, I’ve watched my parents’ attempts at downsizing Christmas. Fifty-two years ago, my mother festooned a real tree with sixty pounds of ornaments, tinsel, and twinkling lights plus adorned the inside of our house with 49 nutcrackers, 19 Santas, 9 hand-knitted stockings, 18 electric candles and an endless assortment of gaudy trinkets that sparkled, glowed or danced.
My father controlled the outside with enough Christmas paraphernalia to shut down the entire block’s power grid. He blanketed the front of our place with lights; bubbled, frosted, tiny and otherwise. He randomly covered it all, from gutters and porch rails to bushes and trees. Like a t-shirt canon at the … [Read more...]

Laugh Out Loud for Rita
Come enjoy a night of laughter to benefit Sandra J. Wing Healing Therapies at Tommy T’s Comedy Club in Pleasanton on October 24 at 5104 Hopyard Rd. Doors open at 6:30pm, show starts at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20.00 each or table of 8 for $120.00. Two item minimum purchase required.
This fundraiser is in honor of Rita Da Costa, Sandra J. Wing Beneficiary, who passed away in 2015. Rita had a big, booming laugh and a constant smile on her face so what better way to celebrate her than to an evening of comedy.
Comedians performing will be local funny ladies Regina Stoops, Stacey Gustafson, plus Mario Montes as MC. Their unique brand humor covers life in the suburbs … [Read more...]

Parent-teacher conferences are as unsettling as being attacked on a city street by a flock of geese overdosed on Ex-Lax. You hope you don’t get hit with something you weren’t expecting.
When our son brought home a crumpled-up reminder note about his upcoming parent-teacher conference, my husband said to me, “Should we be concerned?”
“Nah,” I said with a laugh. “We’ve got nothing to fear. Our little guy’s fun loving, smart, and inquisitive. He’s right on track.”
I was certain his bubbly kindergarten teacher would load on the compliments with a flash of her professionally whitened teeth and say, “Your son is fabulous. A model student.”
This will be a piece of cake.
I prepared a … [Read more...]

Last week I had an opportunity to do interviews with stand up comedians, Regina Stoops and Margaret Zhao. Both are veteran comedians who have been doing stand up comedy to the delight of audiences in California for over 20 years. I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to join them on stage at The Bothwell Arts Center for "One Night, Three Women, Too Funny" comedy night. And it's a fundraiser for the Bothwell Center too.
One Night, Three Women, Too Funny!
Bothwell Arts Center
2466 8th St.
Livermore, CA
Saturday, August 26, 2017
7:30pm 9:00pm
http://www.bothwell.lvpac.org/events/2017/8/26/one-night-three-women-too-funny-comedy-at-the-bothwell
Regina Stoops was born and raised in a … [Read more...]

What's a reverse bucket list? Well, everyone has a bucket list these days. It's a list of all the things you want to accomplish before you die. We’ve all made long lists with stuff like zipline in Hawaii, swim with dolphins, or whitewater rafting in Colorado.
But what about the stuff you don’t ever want to do, the Reverse Bucket List? This list is the one you make after you’ve read all those other bucket lists and realized that you don’t need to jump off the highest mountain nor swim with man-eating beasts before you “kick the bucket.” This is my list of the 5 things I will not do before I die.
Reverse Bucket List - Perform on the Sway Pole … [Read more...]

The newest 2017 Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay debuts on ABC this Monday, May 22, and has 31 contestants to choose from. But her gentleman suitors raise more red flags than a Chinese military parade. Hey ABC, what happened to properly vetting these guys?
According to ABC official website, here’s the bio for Bachelorette Rachel. http://abc.go.com/shows/the-bachelorette/cast/rachel-lindsay
Bio for Bachelorette Rachel
Rachel, 32, obtained her under graduate degree at University of Texas at Austin, then went on to receive her law degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee. Driven and passionate about her career, Rachel quickly joined a prestigious law firm in Dallas after graduation. … [Read more...]

Need a boost of laughter? Check out these funny parenting sayings spotted on magnets and mugs. Even when kids crack your face, break your stuff and question your sanity, it's nice to know you're not alone. Don't forget to check out my favorite family sitcoms, The Middle and The Goldbergs.
Parenting is mostly just being screamed at by a tiny idiot.
The first rule of parenting: Never negotiate with terrorists.
I child proofed by house but they still get in.
If drinking on the front porch counts, then yes, call me outdoorsy.
Who are these kids and why are they calling me mom?
Nothing makes me more productive than the last minute.
My swimsuit told me to go to the gym today … [Read more...]

Ever wonder how to be an emcee? If you’re considering being an MC or the Master of Ceremonies at an event that means that you’re the host for the performance or party. Your responsibilities include speaker introductions, announcements, audience engagement, and general storyteller. You’re kind of the jack-of-all-trades plus the court jester. It’s fun but to do your best, you need to learn the key essential elements.
My second chance to be an emcee for the PTA went better after learning the basic steps. I prepared and rehearsed my seven-minute bit in front of the mirror and to my husband. You benefit by practicing in front of a live audience.
Then the big day arrived. After the host … [Read more...]

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Stacey Gustafson is the bestselling author of Are You Kidding Me? My Life With an Extremely Loud Family, Bathroom Calamities, and Crazy Relatives, ranked #1 Amazon in Parenting & Family Humor and Motherhood. She’s also an inspirational speaker, blogger and comedian. Her short stories have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, seven books in the Not Your Mother’s Book series, as well as Midlife Boulevard, Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, Pleasanton Patch, Bay Woof, and Better After 50. She writes the blog, Are You Kidding Me?, where she dispenses her humorous take on kids, husbands, parents and everything in between.

She has been featured in The Monthly, East Bay’s Premier Magazine of Culture and Commerce as “The New Erma Bombeck,” The East Bay Times, and Toastmasters Magazine.

Her awards include Erma Bombeck Humor Writer of the Month, California Writers Club, Tri-Valley Branch, winner of 2015 Prose Contest, Semi-Finalist in the 2015 Kindle Book Awards, Advanced Toastmaster Bronze award, and Best Comic of the Month at Tommy T’s Comedy Club. She performs stand-up throughout the East Bay.

She lives in Pleasanton, CA with her college sweetheart, Mike, and a white furball named Stanley who loves peanut butter treats. Visit her popular blog at StaceyGustafson.com, Facebook @StaceyGustafsonWriter, and Twitter @RUKiddingStacey.

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